Allotment 81 was granted in 1845 by the Governor of New Zealand to William Grahame and Mr Wright. There were a few changes of ownership before the land was purchased by David Murdoch in 1876. Eliza Murdoch divided and sold the land as six lots from 1889-1899.
The Lake House was Lot 3. John Gordon purchased the land in 1896 and he may have built the house. In 1900 Gordon leased the house to Mary Harvey. The house was known as Harvey’s Boarding House.
Mr Gordon sold the house to Newson and Clara Sheppard in 1905 and they in turn rented it to the Scanlen family who ran a boarding house business there until July 1906 when the Sheppard family moved in.
In 1908 Mr Sheppard added a further four bedrooms as an upper storey. Sheppard had a one inch water main added in 1909, a safeguard considering, the nearby Lake Hotel had burnt to the ground in 1909. In 1910 Mr Sheppard organized a group of twelve telephone subscribers in the Takapuna area- The Lake House was allocated number one.
The House was used as a hospital during the 1918-19 Influenza epidemic. When Mr Sheppard died in 1919 and the house was sold to Mrs Hannah Gertrude Winstone and Mrs Violet Matilda Winstone. They divided the house into five flats. In 1946 Francis and Dorothy Gray from St Heliers purchased the property. Francis Gray died in 1966 and Dorothy continued to own the property until 1983.
In 1982 the property was identified as a place of architectural and historic interest. Dorothy Gray’s executors requested a deletion of the schedule in 1988-89. Robert Green purchased the property and in 1994 an application from Mr Green to have the building removed was accepted. The North Shore City Council identified the house as having exceptional significance.
In September a group, ‘Residents of the Coach House” endeavoured to save and preserve the building. The Coach House trust was formed. The house was removed from the site it had occupied for over 100 years on 10th June 1996. The house was restored as the Lake House Arts Centre on Barry’s Point Reserve

Donated by

Bryce Scanlen

Copyright Holder

No known copyright restrictions.

Reproduction Permissions

Not available for reproduction. Contact North Auckland Research Centre, Takapuna Library to view.